Mo Da Zhu Shi : One Shots (Wangxian)

3. Captured

It took all the self restrain Lan Wangji had mastered sincr childhood to remove the fingers digging into his leg.

Mischeviously, his lips curled into a smile. Inviting, inticing, suggesting.

"Don't." It was all he could get out before having his resolve crumble. He could see Wei Ying physically deflating at that response, though his eyes nevet lost the shine.

"You are getting nothing until you tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened." So his tongue had come back. Most of his facial muscles seemed as he stretched them in all distortions. It was hard to fight back a smile.

He had to. If he wanted an answer from Wei Ying, he had to.

"You were drugged. That is not nothing." He felt exasperated but his tone only came out a bit forced, nothing like how he wanted to convey.

"Calm down. I promise nothing happened. Give it a day or two, then we'd go back retrieve the flute."

Just like that?

"It's.... I want to tell you. It is quite silly actually and laughable even but it is not my place to tell you. I really want to."

He had to ask his uncle. Wangji knew it would be difficult to to get the man to answer. He thought to ask his brother first.

He could see Wei Ying relax as he resolved not to ask him again. Joking and teasing were his defence. When he didn't need them, they were often gone.

"Tell me about the village."

"Well, it is a secluded, more hidden place of GuSu because they are like..." he struggled for words making Wangji wonder about all the whats and whys.

"Their work is misclleneous. There are blacksmiths, craftsmen, inventors even."

What kind of a place was this?

"In a way, they are secret keepers. Like.. umm... do you know who made Bichen?"

Wangji didn't. He knew how it was made. The process. The material. The speciality but not the who.

"Why do you think that is?"

Wei Ying was leading. As ever he reaponded after a pause.

"Their lives could be in danger for their skills." It all clicked. No outsiders. Maybe even capture of Wei Ying made sense that way but how did uncle fit into this. The question on his lips was if uncke knew of Wei Ying's capture.

Wangji was never rash to conclude and so he decided to wait until Wei Ying had recovered, both, his heath and flute.

But he need not worry. Within the next 10 minutes, Wei Ying was up and around. Talking about flexing his muscles and body in another way since Lan Zhan won't help him do it.

The insinuation made him mutter, "Shamless".

Wei Ying laughed and put his arms around Wangji.

"I am alright. Up and kicking. Go." Wangji turned around to look at Wei Ying but saw no sign of exhaution of tiredness. He turned around completely and gathered the man between his arms as he felt the tingling brush of lips on his cheek. Once. Twice. Thrice.

His lips would tremble with need if Wei Ying continued to tease in this manner. He turned his head to captured the pair of tantalizing lush lips but only met air.

Someone's coming and sure there were footsteps.

"Wangji." La QiRen's voice surprised him. His uncle did not summon, he came personally. The urgency and importance was big.

He fixed himself as Wei Ying opened the door for Wangji to meet his uncle in the front room.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Wei Ying gave an encouraging smile but Wangji was still worried about his health on top of his uncle's surprise visit.

"Stay."

Wei Ying silently shook his head behind his uncle and gave him a mock glare. His husband who was the most notorious person in GuSu was being serious under all his layers of nothing-happened attitude.

"I will not be far." He closed the door and Wangji saw his departing shadow. Only when his uncle cleared his throat, did his thoughts arrive back to the room.

He had his usual disapproving look. Lan Wangji bowed to his uncle and waited for him to continue. The two sat across the small table and Lan Wangji served two sets of tea, sliding one to his uncle. The old man took a sip before beginning.

"I received news that you ran into trouble at the Unnamed Burial Site. Are you alright?"

"Hmm." Lan Wangji waited patiently for his uncle, knowing their would be very valid explanation for whatever was going on.

"Why did you go there?"

"Request for cultivator help to suppress a mysterious cognition."

"The request arrived for Yiling Patriarch. What about your own duties of the evening?"

Hanghun Jun did not answer. He raised his eyes to meet his uncle's. He had the most amount of evening duties on that day compared to the past two months. He didn't think anything of it. But now everything fell into place.

The request to Wei Ying arrived the evening he was away. Had his husband not arrived at Caiyi town to help in order for his company, Hanghun Jun would have never known. It was a deliberate attempt to keep them separated. If Wei Ying was captured behind his back, what would he have done?

"Why did you want to keep us separated?" he questioned in return.

Anger flashed through his uncle's eyes. Unanswered questions were impolite according to rules, the most severe impoliteness, severe the punishment.

As the silence stretched, he asked his question.

"Why was Wei Ying captured at the Unnamed Burial Site?"d

"Because anyone other than GuSu natives is not allowed within the place."

"But he was invited by the residents."

"The rule still applies."

It seemed like he was not going to get his answer. He didn't have to point out the conundrum since his uncle already knew. It was precisely due to this rule that Wei Ying was invited and captured without repercussions.

The two sat in silence. Lan Wangji knew his uncle was not going to tell. this was a place important enough to have no name but an unmarked gravestone, it did not allow outsiders, held secrets. What would they have to do with Wei Ying? Chen quin. The answer came naturally.

"What do they need Chenquin for?"

His uncle didn't answer, he pushed his empty cup to the centre and began to leave. Hanghun Jun accompanied him to the door. Wei Ying was sitting in the high branches of the tree in their courtyard, eyes closed, lips smiling, no sense of rush or hurry in his body. He seemed to be enjoying the wind. Lan Wangji bowed to his uncle who was looking at Wei Ying too.

"To find counter techniques for its effect. It was refined with Ying Iron and is unique in existence."

Lan Wangi understood the reasons and it seemed valid from the perspective of his uncle but the method used to achieve this was... elaborate was the most polite word he could come up with to compare the measures taken to obtain Chenquin. Hanghun Jun bowed once again as he uncle began to retreat.

"Asking directly is better."

He proceeded to where his husband had now opened his eyes and was smiling at him. Not a muscle in his body had moved, except the eyes. He did not see the pause in his uncle's step nor did he see when Lan Qiren turned to look at the two of them.

"Come." Lan Wangji called. Lan Qiren had his usual disapproving look before he proceeded on his way.